this has been in progress for a while...was going to do it a bit more extensively but i dunno...it's hard to do that without going on for too long...i might do a second post after this one to be more specific but in summary:
i did:-find it very encouraging
-enjoy the whole experience
-find some of the things that were said vague
-find that they were very passionate people and were very genuine
-question how they remain so pumped and high
-find them taking the bible out of context (once - it was very minor though)
-wonder how the speakers learnt or got the inspiration to do their talks the way they did their talks (coz they werent bible based)
-have to change my thinking of what the conference was about (it wasnt going to be a bible thing. i had to appreciate it as a conference which allowed women to share their personal experiences as christians and i guess as a self empowerment kinda thing but the self empowerment is God? gosh that sounds bad...it's not supposed to be...of course it can be...but i mean it well)
-have to really analyse and think through what they were saying
-have to fill in the gaps or reword well meaning things they had said to i guess 'fit in' or be more Jesus focused (il have to explain that one later - has to do with vagueness as well)
-cry when they did a presentation on rwanda...it was so bad! i walked out of the place feeling really dejected and...i dunno drained? made me realise we really really really have it good here
i didnt:-feel uncomfortable simply standing there despite having thousands of people clap and jump around me while singing
-hear the gospel very much
-use my bible very much either
-find the talks too bad...i was scared id sit there getting really frustrated at what they were saying
-find it too girly
yay!brooke fraser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (had no idea she was part of the hillsong united band!)
one of the speakers j.john was really really funny...he reminded me of mr bean. just some things i wrote down from his talk:
-God is God and he isnt applying for the job
david could have had two reactions to goliath:
a) omgsh hes so big! RUN!
OR
b) damn hes so big! how can i miss??
-no two snowflakes are the same but if you melt an individual snowflake and then refreeze it, it will go back into its orginal formation
-a boy came up to j.john after he did a talk somehwere and basically told him that everything he said was good but he believes that Christianity is just a crutch to lean on. then j.john asked him if he broke both legs, would he appreciate the use of a wheel chair. the boy said yes of course. then j.john asked him if he broke a leg, would he appreciate the use of crutches. the boy said yes again. then j.john said "im a broken person. im glad that i have jesus to lean on while im mending. we're all broken people. i havent met anyone who isnt"
nayi think ive said most of it already in the 'i did/didnt' section...but having thousands of people really was bad...especially when you wanted to buy merchandise or books...simply trying to get out of there was a hassle...
overall it was good, but not good enough for me to cover the expense of a ticket to go again (i recieved tickets as a birthday present) . im really glad for it though, got to see and learn a lot about...a lot i guess =P...especially just by spending the time with the girls i was with. that was a whole learning curve in itself. haha.
